”Nobody gives the evil eye if I leave at 3 pm” : - A qualitative study of non-regulated working hours, reduced working hours and work-life balance.

Employers work in different ways to promote a good work situation and for employees to experience a balance between working life and private life. Flexible work-conditions are an expression of this ambition. The research on flexible work-conditions is comprehensive. However, what characterizes this is that flexibility tends to be described in terms of a dichotomy, as something either "pro" or "against". The purpose of this study is to contribute a more nuanced picture of flexible work-conditions. Based on qualitative semi-structured interviews of seven employees at a profit-driven corporation, which works with non-regulated working hours and reduced working hours. The individual's experience of demand and control in the work situation and the balance between work and leisure is focused. The theoretical basis is Karasek and Theorell's demand-control-support model and the concept of work-life balance. The results of this study, shows that employees' perceptions of demand and control in their work situation vary as both challenges and opportunities appear in the empirical data. However, the employees agree on the positive impact of non-regulated working hours and reduced working hours for their work-life balance. This indicates that flexible work-conditions cannot be understood as something divided into categories "pro" or "against” but need to be reviewed from different perspectives